Heirloom Grains

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook has been one of my favorite cookbooks to play around with for the past couple of months. The unique recipes, colorful dishes and beverages, and Black Spire backstory are all wonderful. Although, I am the first to admit that some of the recipes aren't as close to their Batuu counterparts as I would like. Authenticity aside, there are still some new favorites and fun concoctions to be found in the cookbook's pages.

Take, for instance, Kat's Kettle Corn. They don't use corn on Batuu, it is referred to as 'heirloom grains,' and Kat Saka's family have been growing, harvesting, and serving up these kernels for generations. For this sweet and savory recipe, we're going to have to make up a special batch of Saka Salt first. In case you haven't caught on, Kat Saka and I could clearly be friends as we both have a love of alliteration, but we've strayed away from the kitchen long enough.

SAKA SALT

Ingredients:

2 Tbsps. Red Salt

2 Tsps. Garam Marsala

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a food processor.

Pulse until fully combined.

Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

That's just about as simple as it can be, right? As it turns out, finishing up this snack is almost as easy!

Kat's Kettle Corn

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Popcorn Kernels

1/3 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

1 Tsp. Saka Salt

Yellow Food Coloring

Directions:

Pour oil into a medium pan with a few drops of food coloring.

Place pan on medium high heat.

Add sugar and popcorn kernels to pot, place the lid on pot, and shake the pot a few times.

Leave pot on heat until the cork starts popping.

Shake the pot back and forth until you can no longer see the bottom of the pot through the popped corn.

Remove from heat and continue shaking to cover popcorn with sweet coating.

Once the popping has mostly stopped, pour popcorn into a large bowl.

Sprinkle with Saka Salt, tossing occasionally to coat evenly.

Kat's Kettle Corn lives up to its name, and gives your mouth a workout with sweet, salty, and spicy flavors playing back and forth constantly. The salt definitely is the strongest, almost overwhelming, flavor, but you can definitely taste all of the ingredients. It is as wild of a flavor combination as, say, Kat's Outpost Mix that is available in Galaxy's Edge, but it is a fun to make and fun to eat treat.

The recipe gave my family some ideas, and allowed us to create a shortcut snack if you don't want to make your own popcorn. We have been using microwave butter popcorn and then tossing it with Garam Marsala once we've gotten it into a large bowl. It cuts out the sweet, and levels out the saltiness, but still gives it a wonderful spiciness that we don't get everyday.

There are a ton of other recipes that have piqued our interest in the Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, so you have more recipes to look forward in the coming months. Until then, mix up a couple of Blue Milks, pop up your own batch of heirlook grains for Kat's Kettle Corn, and make it a Star Wars movie night!